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| White teen-age girl and black housekeeper run away in 1964 South Carolina. |
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| One-word
View: Tender |
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After
Rosaleen makes a very unwise move, Lily, decides that
the two of them should leave home and head for another
small South Carolina town. The major points of concern
in this relocation plan are pretty palpable: 1. Lily is
14 and white 2. Rosaleen is a black housekeeper who has
raised Lily since the latter's mother's death several
years earlier 3. It is the South. 4. It is 1964. With
this particular blend of ingredients, the story could
have easily evolved into one of racial tumult depicting
the heartbreaks and cruelties of that era. Instead, Kidd
attempts to overshadow the ugliness of that time in American
history by focusing on the similarities of mankind, only
allowing a few glimpses into racial negativity.
As in Bees so too, do we see in our lives that strong
connections are often built on the foundation of shared
difficult times such as losing loved ones or possessing
dark secrets. In this story, secrets bring the characters
together while threatening to destroy the nirvana of sorts
that exists in the confines of the Boatwrights' bee farm.
Lily, haunted by childhood memories, ends up at the
Boatwright bee farm using the only clue left behind
by her mother - - a picture of a Black Madonna with
Tiburon, SC written on its back. The plot thickens as
Lily discovers the exact label affixed on August Boatwright’s
honey containers in a Tiburon store. Soon, Lily and
Rosaleen learn the tale of the Black Madonna and become
adopted members of the family. What could it all mean?
A lot. And its meaning holds the most revealing secret
of all. As the story unfolds Lily, Rosaleen, August
and the rest discover a lot about themselves as well
as forgiveness, understanding, and our responsibility
to embrace happiness. I did enjoy Bees, however, one
flaw was impossible to ignore.
While I found myself smiling and feeling hopeful about pure friendships and unconditional love, I also struggled with the lack of realism. I am not a cynic. Granted, it is plausible that there were many blacks and whites that built friendships in the 1960’s South. However, it is highly improbable that a fourteen-year-old white girl could just move in with a group of black sisters and it not become a real issue for the townspeople and her father. It was the one thing that I could not shake while reading this. With that said, it is worth a read: a nice in-betweener.
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